With both the Cubs and White Sox leading their divisions, there’s really not much to complain about in Chicago baseball this summer. We’ve even spotted Cubs and Sox fans peacefully coexisting around town. The All Star break this week gives us some free time, which led us to contemplate our ideal concerts at the Friendly Confines and the Cell. There’s something to be said when the stadiums in which we have cheered and jeered are transformed into the ideal venue for our favorite artists. We’re thinking back to the Police at Wrigley last summer and the Rolling Stones 40 Licks Tour on the South Side a few years back. Who would you most love to see in the hallowed home of your favorite team?

A debate has been raging internally over the influence of the music on iTunes commercials on the mass population. If you recall and look past the U2 and Coldplay commercials of the recent past, you’ll recall how one commercial helped launch the career of a band called Jet, propelled Feist into a different atmosphere where she is now headlining Ravinia Festival for over 20,000 people this coming Friday night, and more recently exposed us to The Ting Tings. You can’t honestly tell us that “1,2,3,4” never stuck in your mind, or that the catchy “Shut Up and Let Me Go” currently on the commercial didn’t get your attention. What other songs that you remember took off because of use at the right time in a particular commercial, movie scene, or television show?

July, already? Summer tends to fly by real quick here in Chicago, especially when our baseball teams are winning, and when there are plenty of music acts coming thru town. The first week of July hits town with a bang, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers team up with Steve Winwood to tackle the United Center. If you’ve never seen Petty, you need to do it now whether you are a fan or just on the fence with him. Constantly bringing a great energy and show to every performance, we recall 2003 when Tom and the Heartbreakers tore through 5 nights at The Vic Theatre in Chicago as something we will never forget. Best Petty song? We have our favorites, but let us know what yours are right here.

Fast forward two days to our annual shin-dig in Grant Park at Taste of Chicago. The show is free to all who come and this year’s lineup is solid with Gomez, Old 97’s, and Alejandro Escovedo for yearly tradition. Plus, the city is launching fireworks off later that night at 9:30pm on the lakefront so make sure to stick around! Past years shows have included John Mayer, Matthew Sweet, Wilco, Counting Crows, Buddy Guy, The Replacements, and many more. Let us know what your favorites were and who we should be putting on the bill in 2009!

Jack Johnson is back in Chicago this Saturday with his eco-friendly tour. We’ve noticed this tour provide Jack with plenty of press including the cover of Rolling Stone, Outside magazine, and awareness through XRT’s own Rock, Roll, Recycle program. It’s amazing to think that one surfer, er man, has come such a long way in such a short time to headline the massive outdoor venue called Alpine Valley Music Theatre…but the people come and fill up the seats to see him perform. Over the years you get to hear plenty of opinions here, and while there are still many who claim that all of Jack’s stuff sounds the same each time around, we here at XRT have always been fans of the sound he brings. Is Jack Johnson up and worthy of being alongside music’s biggest solo artist names, or is he still climbing up that ladder. Either way, we’re not going to tell you what we believe but you should certainly tell us and other XRT listeners….

view the 93XRT Jack Johnson artist bio here

view the 93XRT Jack Johnson Rock Roll Recycle page here 

Coldplay announced their return to Chicago this week on July 23rd at the United Center. With the mad marketing rush for the new album Viva La Vida, with the appearance on TV shows and award shows and the very big score of the iTunes commercial, this band is setting itself up and being positioned as the next U2. Remember, the last time iTunes got behind a new album like this it was for U2’s previous release. While some may still consider Coldplay a baby in they eyes of the work U2 has released, a case could certainly said that this band is on its way to super stardom, if not already right outside the city limits of it. Let us know what you think, if you will be seeing the return, and if Chris Martin and company can fill the shoes of U2 and Bono for generations to come…